“Only tribunal has power to void election” — Adamawa APC Gov’ship Candidate Binani

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Aisha Dahiru Binani, the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate and alleged governor-elect in the just concluded Adamawa governorship election has asked an Abuja federal high court to review the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to void her controversy declaration as the winner.

Following the declaration of the March 18 election as inconclusive over alleged rigging, the Adamawa Governorship supplementary election was conducted on Saturday April 15.

After Aisha also known as Binani was declared winner of the election by Yunusa Ari, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC then discontinued the exercise and described his action as null and void.

INEC stated that declaration of a winner is only the duty of a returning officer.

However, Binani quickly applied for leave of the court to allow her seek “an order of prohibition and certiorari for the purpose of being set aside the administrative decision of the 1st respondent made on 16th April, 2023 in respect of the declaration of the winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa state held on the 18th of March 2023 and the supplementary election held on 15th April, 2023”.

Binani also wants an order “preventing the 1st respondent, its agent, assign or any person acting on its behalf from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa state held on the 18th of March and the supplementary election held on 15th April 2023, pending the determination of the application for judicial review”.

She claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of the state, resorted to stirring violence after she was declared the winner.

She stated that INEC staff were caught up in the violence and were manhandled which caused the electoral commission to cancel the initial declaration.